Authors: Aisha Akhtar and Payal Kumari

ABSTRACT

India’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime has evolved through distinct historical, legislative, and policy phases, culminating in a TRIPS-compliant legal framework that seeks to balance innovation incentives with public interest. While statutory development has been substantial, persistent gaps remain in enforcement effectiveness, judicial capacity, and policy coherence. This paper critically examines whether India’s contemporary IPR enforcement mechanisms meaningfully translate legal protection into practical outcomes for innovators and rights holders. Using doctrinal analysis and judicial interpretation, particularly the Supreme Court’s decision in Novartis AG v. Union of India (2013), the study argues that India’s IPR regime prioritizes access and competition but suffers from fragmented enforcement and underdeveloped institutional capacity. The paper concludes that stronger analytical integration between policy objectives, judicial standards, and enforcement mechanisms is necessary to transform India’s IPR system from a formally robust framework into a substantively effective one.

Keywords: Intellectual Property Rights, India, History , Evolution , Patents Act 1970, Copyright,
Trademarks, Awareness, Enforcement, Novartis v. India, IPR Policy